A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book

Complex address practices in Finland Swedish: Actual and reported use of address in service encounters




AuthorsWide, Camilla; Norrby, Catrin

EditorsVíctor Fernández-Mallat; María Irene Moyna

Publication year2025

Book title Beyond Binaries in Address Research. Actual and reported use of address in service encounters

First page 146

Last page170

ISBN978-90-272-2821-5

eISBN978-90-272-4463-5

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1075/tar.6.07wid

Publication's open availability at the time of reportingNo Open Access

Publication channel's open availability No Open Access publication channel

Web address https://doi.org/10.1075/tar.6.07wid

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/499083791

Self-archived copy's versionFinal draft


Abstract

This chapter compares actual address in service situations with reported use and perceptions of address. We focus on Finland-Swedish and compare it with Sweden-Swedish to highlight typical features of Finland-Swedish address practices. Our data come from two sources: observations of address practices in service encounters and responses to a questionnaire administered to Finland-Swedish speakers, which explored address use in service situations. Findings show that Finland-Swedish address practices go beyond a conventional T/V dichotomy. T address dominates, but V address still occurs to some extent in service contexts. Nevertheless, some speakers find V address highly inappropriate. Furthermore, plural V and absence of direct address are common in service contexts. Our results confirm the non-binary character of the Finland-Swedish address system.



Keywords:
Address strategiesFinland SwedishInteractional sociolinguisticsLinguistic variationPerceptionsQuestionnaireService encounters

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Funding information in the publication
Riksbankens jubileumsfond 2013–2020 (Grant no.: M120137:1)


Last updated on 30/07/2026 05:10:05 PM